River Road

Bad Roads.

The country roads are in a very bad condition. The recent thaw melted the snow and ice and, mixing them with the mud, made the highways in some places almost impassable. The river road, running from the north end of Lansingburgh to the Hoosick river, is in a bad condition, the rain having washed the bank away in several places for a number of feet. This road is always a poor one in the spring and fall. The old northern turnpike, which runs from Lansingburgh through Schaghticoke and Valley Falls, is in a deplorable condition. The stone road, running through Raymertown and Pittstown Corners and into the town of Hoosick, is the best of the turnpike roads in this section, but in places mud-holes occur. The old mud turnpike, running from congress street along the base of the Grafton mountains, is in a fearful state, wagons in places sinking half way to the hubs. The crossroads are in better condition, but in some places they are also very poor.Troy Daily Times. February 16, 1886: 3 col 4.

To any person who enjoys driving this is the most pleasant season of the year. The roads are in good condition, the air is cool and bracing and the landscapes are far more pleasing than during the summer months. Many of the leaves have begun to turn, noticeably the sumach, which is of a brilliant crimson hue. The fields by the side of the road are filled with golden rod, blue gentian and other late flowers. Troy’s finest drives are toward the north, above Lansingburgh, the most picturesque being the River road. This as a road is not by any means perfect, it being so narrow that at most points two vehicles cannot pass one another. But in regard to scenery, it is unexcelled. Extending close to the bank of the river, but at times thirty feet above, it commands a view of a long stretch of country, with the distant green hills forming a beautiful background.Troy Daily Times. September 15, 1888: col 5.

Bicyclists and Bathers.

Samuel Bolton, jr., has recently had a number of benches erected on the river road for the use of bicyclists or strollers who wish to rest by the wayside. His latest philanthropic move is to have a place fitted up in rear of Bolton hall for bathers. Such acts as these are of frequent occurrence on Mr. Bolton’s part and are appreciated by the people.
“Lansingburgh.” Troy Daily Times. July 12, 1896: 4 col 2.

Summer Residents and Farmers on the Highway North From This City Along East Bank of Hudson River Complain of Its Condition—Ask for Improvement or Reconstruction.
Contending that their protests for the last three years have been unavailing several hundred farmers and residents of Schaghticoke as well as Trojans who own summer homes on the Upper Hudson have made preparations for a concerted effort to bring about either reconstruction or improvement of the River Road.
Petitions containing hundreds of names have been prepared and will be sent to the New York State Commission of Highways protesting against what has long been termed a “deplorable highway” and local state representatives will also be petitioned in the interest of an improvement.
The highway leads from what is known as the Horseshoe Road, along the eastern shore of the Hudson River, to Hemstreet Park, a settlement in the town of Schaghticoke opposite Mechanicville, a distance of approximately ten miles. The highway is much used, especially in the summer time. Residents along the road claim that little has been done to keep the thoroughfare in condition. Because of the soft nature of the soil the dirt road almost annually and sometimes several times during a year suffers from landslides and cave-ins. The petitioners contend that the only improvements to their knowledge consisted of the placing of a thin layer of gravel along the road from the old tollgate near the end of the Horseshoe Road to dam No. 1, about three miles north of the city line, about three years ago, and that a year later practically nothing was done except digging out three small slides. Last year about twenty loads of gravel were dumped on the road at the clay bank just north of Koolkill. At the Schwartz farm twenty-two canal boats of large stones were placed along the shore by the state authorities to prevent the backwater from washing out the bank.
The road is of vast importance to the hundreds of persons who camp along the banks of the Hudson during the summer months and many of these complain that during last season a section of the road, for more than two miles, was in such a deplorable condition that signs were posted from May to October pointing out that the highway was closed and people traversing it did so at their own risk.Troy Times. January 17, 1920: 3 col 3.